Heart Health News

Health Highlights: Nov. 27, 2013

Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Princeton Students Can Get Meningitis Vaccine Starting Dec.
9

A meningitis B vaccine will be offered at Princeton University
beginning in early December, the school said Tuesday.

On Friday, the university announced the eighth reported case of
meningitis B this year.

The vaccine will be available to certain groups of people
recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These include all undergraduate students, graduate students living
in dorms or the Graduate College and annexes, and other people in
the university community who have certain medical conditions,
according to
CNN.

The first dose of the vaccine will be available at the
university's Frist Campus Center from Dec. 9 to 12, and the second
dose will be available in February. For maximum protection, people
must receive two doses. The cost of the vaccine will be covered by
Princeton.

Previously, university spokesman Martin Mbugua said the vaccine
would be recommended for about 5,000 undergraduates and 550
graduate students in dorms,
CNNreported.

-----

U.S. Government Moves to Keep Ban on Payments for Bone Marrow
Donors

The U.S. government is taking steps to maintain a ban on paying
bone marrow donors.

The move comes in response to a 2011 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ruling that some marrow donors could be compensated if they
donated marrow-producing cells through a newer blood-filtering
instead of the older method of extracting marrow cells from inside
the bone, the
Associated Pressreported.

In its ruling, the court noted that it's legal to pay donors of
blood plasma, which is collected using a method that's similar to
the newer one used to gather bone marrow-producing cells.

The federal government's proposal on banning payment for all
types of bone marrow donations is open for public comment through
Monday.

"It is not a matter of how you obtain it," Shelley Grant of the Health Resources and Services Administration's transplant division, told the AP. "Whether we obtain them through the marrow or the circulatory system, it is those stem cells that provide a potential cure."

-----

Gynecologists Can Treat Men: Board

Gynecologists can treat men for sexually transmitted infections
and screen men for anal cancer, the American Board of Obstetrics
and Gynecology said Tuesday.

The statement reverses restrictions announced in September that
said gynecologists could lose their board certification if they
treated men. While exceptions were made to allow certain
procedures, screening men at high risk for anal cancer was not
permitted,
The New York Timesreported.

The board explained that it wanted to protect the profession as
a female specialty and limit the non-gynecological work performed
by its members.

But after pressure from anal cancer experts and patient
advocates, the board reconsidered and realized that gynecologists
have a long tradition of treating sexually transmitted infections
in both women and men, according to Dr. Kenneth Noller, the board's
director of evaluation.

Anal cancer is usually caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV),
which is sexually transmitted,
The Timesreported.

-----

Obamacare Contraception Fight Goes to Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review provisions in
the Affordable Care Act that require companies of a certain size to
offer employees insurance coverage for birth control and other
reproductive health services without a co-pay.

The court will examine whether non-profit organizations and
private companies can snub the requirement by claiming it violates
their religious beliefs. Oral arguments will likely be heard in
March and a ruling issued by late June,
CNNreported.

Nearly 100 lawsuits have been filed in federal court challenging
the contraception coverage provision. Three federal appeals courts
have struck down the birth control rule, while two others have
upheld it.

Companies that refuse to provide the coverage could be fined up
to $1.3 million a day,
CNNreported.

The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case is an "important
fight for Americans' religious liberty," according to Kyle Duncan,
general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead
lawyer for Hobby Lobby, one of the companies challenging the birth
control provision.

The owners of Hobby Lobby say there is a clash between their
Christian beliefs and the fact that some of the drugs that would be
provided under the rule prevent human embryos from being implanted
in the womb, which they equate to abortion. They do not object to
providing other forms of contraception, such as condoms and
diaphragms, for their employees,
CNNreported.

Federal government officials say their are rules that exempt
certain nonprofit groups and religiously-affiliated organizations
from the contraceptives coverage requirement. In such cases, women
would receive coverage from another company at no cost.

Supporters of the law note it does not require individual
company owners to personally provide coverage they might find
objectionable, but instead puts that responsibility on the
corporate entity,
CNNreported.

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.